Beatles - Come Together Song Meanings
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Lyrics:
Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker ...
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 Top Rated Interpretation
anonymous
August 23rd, 2008 09:50PM
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OK, the meaning of the lyrics are actually quite clear and relevant if you know some history about the Beatles and are somewhat familiar with the idioms and slang of the era:
1st verse:
"HERE COME OL' FLAT-TOP,
HE COME GROOVIN' UP SLOWLY.
HE GOT HAIR DOWN TO HIS KNEE,
GOT TO BE A JOKER HE JUST DO WHAT HE PLEASE."
This verse references Ringo. "Flat-Top" makes reference to Ringo's bluesy musical roots and the disparaging stereotype that was often applied to those that played that style of music.
"Groovin' up slowly" refers to the fact that Ringo was the last to join the final and 'official' line-up of the band, yet his drumming ability was very limited and borderline acceptable at the beginning, especially compared to the abilities of the rest of the band. As he honed his skill, he slowly became better and better at holding down the beat of the music, or 'groove' as it was also loosely referred to. As the group continued to record and release music, his talent slowly came up to the standards of the other three.
"He got hair down to his knee" simply refers to the fact that Ringo had a longer, shaggy hairstyle when he joined the band, while the other three had the short, close-cropped style favored by the 'mods' of the day.
"Got to be a joker he just do what he please" is obvious: Ringo was the funny one, the 'cut-up' of the group and he often said and did bizzarre and unexpected things in formal situations the group found themselves in during the early years. His enthusiastic, upbeat attitude was a major influence of the early writings of John and Paul.
Verse #2:
"HE WEAR NO SHOE-SHINE,
HE GOT TOE-JAM FOOTBALL.
HE GOT MONKEY-FINGER,
HE SHOOT COCA-COLA.
HE SAY I KNOW YOU, YOU KNOW ME.
ONE THING I CAN TELL YOU IS YOU GOT TO BE FREE.
The subject of this verse is George. "He wear no shoe-shine" is a reference to going to bare-foot, a quite-common state of dress that George adopted once he became so enamored of the Indian Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Bare feet and simple robes were the accepted dress of the followers of the Yogi, and George's influence quickly spread to the other three Beatles.
Toe-Jam football is just a reference to bare-foot 'soccer' style football playing, the common social outdoor activity practiced by many while worshipping at the yogi's temple.
"Monkey-Finger" refers to George's manual dexterity and amazing abilty to master many, many different styles of stringed intruments, notably the 'sitar', an almost unknown instrument at the time that he was introduced to and quickly learned how to play while worshipping at the yogi's temple.
"He shoot coca-cola" is obvious: 'coca-cola' is street-slang for cocaine, a drug that George, as well as the others, would often 'shoot up' directly into thier veins.
"I know you, you know me...we got to be free" is simply the basic premise of the entire teachings of the Yogi, that George was so whole-heartadly promoting to his fellow bandmates.
"COME TOGETHER RIGHT NOW...OVER ME" refers to the message the Yogi deleivered to the band asa group that would supposedly heal the growing rift and dissention between the four members of the band and unite them as a single cohesive unit once again.
Verse #3:
"HE BAD (NOT 'BAG') PRODUCTION,
HE GOT WALRUS GUM-BOOT.
HE GOT ONO SIDEBOARD,
HE ONE SPINAL CRACKER,
HE GOT FEET DOWN BELOW HIS KNEE,
HOLD YOU IN HIS ARMCHAIR YOU CAN FEEL HIS DISEASE.
No questions about this one, it's about John all the way:
"Bad production" refers to John's increasing level of drug use and the negative effect it had on his abilty to effectivly create acceptable music with the rest of the band, and to function with the rest of the band.
John was the 'Walrus' referred to in the 'I am the Walrus; lyrics', clearly this refers to him.(notwithstanding the later lyric 'the walrus was Paul' from "Glass onion")
A 'sideboard' is the term used when attorneys would be called away from a trial during court for private discussion. "Ono sideboard" makes refernce to the growing distraction that the rest of the band felt Yoko Ono was having on John.
John's increasing uncooperative attitude towards the professional and musical direction the rest of the band wanted to follow manifested itself in John constantly griping and complaining to the others, or in slang terms "breaking thier backs", a term referenced with 'spinal cracker'.
"Feet down below his knee" also makes refernce to his stubborn, uncompromising desire to do things his way only with little or no regard for the rest of the band's wishes. To give in was to be seen as being on 'your knees', but John had 'feet below his knees', so there was no way he was going to kneel(stand on his knees) and be subserviant when he could 'stand on his feet' and be the decison-maker.
"Hold you in his armchair (possibly..."arms, yeah...) you can feel his disease" refers to the fact that John's tough exterior persona barely fooled anyone, as his self-loathing and self-doubt, fueled and magnified by increasingly excessive drug use began to consume him. To be close to , or to 'hold him in your arm...' was to know the real John, where one could 'feel his disease'.
Verse #4:
"HE ROLLER COASTER,
HE GOT EARLY WARNING.
HE GOT MUDDY WATER,
HE ONE MOJO FILTER.
HE SAY ONE AND ONE AND ONE IS THREE
GOT TO BE GOOD LOOKING 'CAUSE HE'S SO HARD TO SEE"
Well, last of the four is Paul, and this is clearly all about Paul.
'Roller coaster' refers to Paul's aggravating habit to the rest of the band by constantly changing his stated desire to either break up and move on to a solo career or to remain as a band and contue on as the 'Beatles'.
'Early warning' makes reference to the fact that they all made it clear to Paul long before that his selfish, superior attitide was going to create a rift between them and in fact it finally did.
'Muddy water' describes the bad feelings and growing poor relationship between Paul and the rest of the band due to his constant lying and manipulation of them, and particularly about his attempts to convince the others to let his father-in-law manage the band as opposed to the choice the others made.
'Mojo filter' refers to Paul's habit of 'spin doctoring' information to the others and manipulating thier perceptions so as to ultimately get his way.
'One and one and one is three' refers to Paul's attempts to try and convince the others that if he did indeed leave the band and start a solo career, they remaining three could carry on and continue to be 'the Beatles' without him, contray to everyone else's opinion.
'Got to be good looking...': a straightforward reference to the fact that he was typically considered the 'cute, good looking one' of the group.
'...so hard to see' desribes the increasing time away from the rest of the band that Paul was spending on persoanl projects, to the detriment of any possible group projects.
So, there you have it!
anonymous
July 31st, 2005 06:17PM
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Okay, I'e read this several times, and also heard it while watching a documentary on John Lennon. This song DOES have a meaning. Timothy Leary came to John Lennon and asked him to write a song for him. He was going to run for a political office, and his campaign slogan was going to be "Come Together." He wanted a song his followers could sing along the campaign trail that included that slogan. Timothy Leary was arrested before the campaign, so John Lennon no longer felt obligated to give Leary the song he wrote, and therefore, the Beatles recorded it as their own. So that explains "Come together right now, over me." As for the wacky lyrics of the verses, never question John Lennon.
anonymous
December 17th, 2005 01:52AM
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This is just me... but listening to the lyrics, I wonder if John is not describing the Beatles in the song... 4 verses, 4 beatles... The 3rd verse (walrus gumboot) describes John (ono sideboards, walrus gumboot, feel his disease), the first vers (here come ol flattop) describes George (joo-joo eyeball, holy roller, He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please), the 4th verse perhaps about Ringo (early warning, one and one and one is three could deal with drums and rythm, and Got to bee good looking cause he's so hard to see is because Ringo was always behind the drumset.), and the 2nd verse about Paul (monkey finger, like a bass player,) But I don't know. I'm just playin around.
anonymous
December 25th, 2005 03:10AM
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Interpretation done by Grant Kimura:
No one's willing to explain the lyrics to "Come Together" by the Beatles. They all say it's just random gibberish. I say that each of the individual verses is about each respective member of the band:
The third verse is obviously about John Lennon. Having an "ono sideboard" would mean he has Yoko as a sideboard (armrest on a couch), which would mean that she is his support. (She was in the studio in a hospital bed with him, since they had both been in a car crash 3 weeks prior, as they recorded this song) Walrus gumboot would most likely refer to the Beatles song, "I am the Walrus", which was penned by Lennon.
The first verse seems like it would be about Paul. The original version of "Come Together" was faster, until Paul wrote that groovy bassline and slowed it down. This was also about the time Paul and John started getting more and more bitter at each other, so the last line would then make sense. As for the hair line, who knows? John actually had the longest hair in the group during this time.
The last verse, I'm assuming is about Harrison. George was the least prominent member of the group. Only sang backup, never lead, always stood off to the side, so the "so hard to see" line would make sense in those regards. "Mojo filter" could also be in reference to Harrison's really strong sense of spirituality with Middle Eastern influences.
Thus, the second verse would be about Ringo. That just seems like gibberish to me, but it's the only verse left for the poor guy.
anonymous
March 20th, 2006 05:48PM
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I believe the song is about the four Beatles. The first verse is probably about Ringo, "Got to be a joker" being the most identifiable portion. The second verse is probably about Paul: "He wear no shoeshine" could refer to his bare feet in the photo on the cover of "Abbey Road", which may have already be taken; and Paul's known role as the "keen" one in the band could be reflected in "I know you, you know me," etc. The third verse is definitely about John. The fourth verse is likely about George, due to "so hard to see" and references to guitarists such as Muddy Waters. It's interesting how prescient the song is, though: Paul, many years later, wrote a song called "Freedom", and George was a participant in the John-less Beatles known as the "Threetles", who came together over John for The Beatles Anthology.
anonymous
October 30th, 2006 09:26PM
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First off, whoever said I am the Walrus is a bunch of gibberish, it's not. Yea, a few lines are because John wrote them to confuse a teacher trying to analyze his lines in england but the rest has a meaning but that is a different song. I think that guy at the beginning about the four verses being about the four Beatles. 1 would be George. 2 would be Paul. 3 would be John (obviously) and 4 would be Ringo.
Beatlemaniac
March 26th, 2007 11:01PM
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I think that 2006-01-04 17:33:48 is right. It does have to do with a funeral. Ever heard of the "paul is Dead" hoax? Well on the album cover, There is an order in the way they walk. First is George, the grave digger. Next comes Paul, the dead guy. Notice he is barefoot, out of step, and holding a cigarette, as a dead man would. Then there is Ringo, the mortician. Finally, John, the preacher, dressed in white. Also, there are people right aboe Paul's head, all dressed in white, and I think they are his angels. The car in between George and Paul has a license late number- LMW 281F. Think now...., Linda McCartney Weeps, and 28 if, if he hadn't died, he would be 28. The person in the left part of the pan is a tourist, not knowing he was on camera, but the black car next to him is the hearse. See?
Now for the song. He got hair down to his knee- your hair keeps growing when you are dead. Toe jam football- rugby, what Paul liked to play. One and One and One is three- three remaining members. Got to be good looking cause he's so hard to see- he is dead and hard to see, so make his body look good. Come together right now, Over me- Everybody come together and get along, over my death.
There is my interpretation, and no, they are not drug fanatics that they can't write about anything else. Their songs, belive it or not, actually do have some meaning.
anonymous
August 28th, 2007 09:38PM
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In all honesty I'm not a religious fanatic, but I believe the song has several references to the hypocrisy of god. Many Beatles songs contain references to peace, love, and, of course, drugs. This one's no different, however the lyrics imply a second meaning.
"He one holy roller, He got hair down to his knee, Got to be a joker he just do what he please." Maybe the stereotypical image of god with the hair, the holy roller is pretty self explanatory, and of course God can be viewed as a "joker" since many things credited to the creator are very humorous, and sometimes inexplicable.
These lyrics are loaded as well. "He roller-coaster, he got early warning, He got muddy water, he one mojo filter, He say "One and one and one is three, Got to be good-looking because he's so hard to see" Obviously one could delve into religious philosophy, but I'll keep it simple. 1+1+1=3, A holy trinity reference maybe? Of course no one has ever seen god(hence so hard to see), and even so more war is carried out in his name than for any other cause known to man.
All the references to disease like, "Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease, Come together right now over me", may be a insinuation that God, and religion is corrupt. Makes sense, after all the Beatles promote peace and religion has been a basis for conflict since the beginning of time.
anonymous
October 16th, 2007 10:52AM
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Personally I think you all are reading too much into it. This isn't the song that was written for the PAUL IS DEAD craze. You're mistaken for Glass Onion. Glass onion was written with a whole bunch of "fake clues" expressing Johns frustration with people reading too far into his lyrics as far as John and Paul once again showing their wit by giving the PAUL IS DEAD cult something to chew on. I think it's quite obvious that this song is about John Himself.
He got hair down to his knees - He was growing out his hair at this point.
Got to be a joker he just do what he please- That describes JOhn almost perfectly.
he wear no shoeshine- John is known for speaking out against the higher class.
He shoot coca cola- In the movie "a Hard days night" during the scene while they're on the train John tries to snort cola from a bottle. I always saw it as a reference to that.
he got walrus gumboot- he was the walrus
he got ono sideboard- Yoko ono
He got feet down below his knees- John was always reminding people he and the other beatles were normal people like everyone else
Got to be good looking cause he's so hard to see- Without his glasses John was legally blind
anonymous
December 17th, 2007 03:26PM
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The Drugs were good in the 60's
anonymous
February 17th, 2008 10:23AM
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I always thought this song was a tribute to George Martin. There are references to musical styles and tempo (groove it up slowly,muddy water,1+1+1 is 3). Martin was older (old flattop)probably had Yoko sitting in the booth with him during recordings (ono sideboard)also explaining the armchair and how serious he was about his craft (feel his disease). While in the studio Martin would be behind the glass (so hard to see) and finally the obvious, Come together over me. Martin was key in keeping it all together, especially near the end.
anonymous
March 12th, 2008 12:05PM
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Well first off I am pretty sure that the song is about the 4 of them.... now as far as the others some of them seem like they could make sense but I would like to say that those of you who think it's about the Revelation and Jesus' return are just wrong.... John Lennon made it clear that he was not a Christian, Spiritual yes, but not a Christian. He even made a LOT of people mad by saying at one point that they "are bigger than Jesus Christ" does that sound like he wrote a song about the bible? Come on people.
niftymacaroons
June 8th, 2008 06:59PM
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It's about the four members of the Beatles.
The first verse is about George. The whole grooving up slowly referring to his groovy guitar play and hair down to his knees is about his long hair.
The second verse is about Paul.He wear know shoe shine refers to how you see picture( Abbey Road) cover with Paul having no shoes on. Monkey Finger is a common reference to a bass player.
The third verse is about John. He got WALRUS gumboot, John wrote "I am the Walrus". He got Ono sideboard. Yoko Ono was the wife of John.
The last verse is about Ringo. One and One and One is three meaning the three symbols he used, and got to be good looking cause he's so hard to see means that it is hard to see him behind his drum set.
anonymous
June 18th, 2008 06:45AM
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Maybe its like one of Salvador Dali's paintings, with multiple meanings.
It might just depend on what way you look at it. It might be about everything debated here, Timothy Leary, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the 4 different Beatles, etc.
Personally, the four Beatles theory makes most sense to me, and it annoys me that some people take the easy way out by saying "meaningless drug-induced lyrics". back to Dali, everyone thought he was weird and that was the end of it, but the guy was a genius. crazy genius, true, totally mad, but genius, nonetheless.
The meanings of some Beatles songs could be debated for all eternity, and they'd still be the only ones that knew what was going through their head at the time.
Insight
July 13th, 2008 02:10AM
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It's really sad that anyone would think so little of John Lennon to suppose that this song is about nothing but drugs.
We all know he used drugs and in many ways was a tormented soul, but at his core he wanted nothing more than to bring peace and love to the world. This song was one of many he wrote with that purpose in mind.
anonymous
September 10th, 2008 01:02PM
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I think this song is completely about the times of the 70s: drugs and death and rivalry against the police;
Here come o'l flat top - a police car
He shoot coca-cola - a brown soda and an obvious reference to shooing up heroine (also brown)
Come together, right now, over me - everyone joining in unity over this song/album since the time of the 70s was not longer about peace and love but hatred and war.
anonymous
September 26th, 2008 08:52PM
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Just a thought...but come together "over me" seems to be the exact opposite of "under God". My meaning is let your own freak flag fly and don't let anyones beliefs tell you how to live your life.
anonymous
October 22nd, 2008 02:50PM
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I have a feeling it is about the time they were in. The Beatles were amazing artist and the best poets. most likely they could entangle many things to bring up ideas on their lyrics. For instance at the hype of Paul is dead faze the no shoe shine and lots of other lyrics imply more of the great hoax. further more the theory that each verse is of a Beatles was a possibility in the minds of the fab four also. However many of the lyrics can also apply to most everyone around them. with long hair, shooting (coca cola) drug use and the hippy days. In all the Beatles enjoy toying with words and baffling many.
anonymous
October 22nd, 2008 06:31PM
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I feel like this song is about john's death, actually. There is still some speculation as to if John knew he was going to die. If you listen to the words, it's really creepy because it's describing Mark Chapman. The song is definitely about death, yes, no matter whose it is, but I always had this feeling that John Lennon knew something was going to happen to him. I've taken "come together, right now, over me" as people coming together, unifying over his grave. I could be, of course, wrong, but I've always had a gut feeling about it.
cmatthews926
November 19th, 2008 06:40PM
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The highest rated interpretation was definitely on the right track I think, but i'd like to embellish and expand a bit on their description while sharing my view. Firstly, it is true that he wrote the song for Timothy Leary's gubernatorial campaign. The line "Come together over me" possesses a nuanced political quality, while maintaining a level ambiguity. I think John left this one out to dry a bit so people could individually interpret the meaning. Now, the rest of the song obscurely describes 4 people (or one eccentric person with multiple personalities). Either way, Let's stray away from the latter to reduce a bit of speculation. Suppose that they are John's enigmatic interpretations of how he viewed himself and his band-mates. Not all the lines in each verse specifically point to a person, but the lines I have listed below indicate some clues as to who is who in the song. Perhaps the other lines such as the "monkey finger" and "joo-joo eyeball" were utilized to add to the overall blues tone and swagger of the song:
1st Verse : George Harrison
- He come groovin' up slowly (possibly because he's a guitarist)
- He one "Holy Roller" (regards to his Indian influence, and meditative spirituality)
- Hair down to to his knee (self-explanatory I hope)
2nd Verse: Ringo Starr
- He wear no sunshine he got toe jam football (I feel John is decribing Ringo's clumsy demeanor here)
- He shoot coca-cola (Interestingly enough this is not referring to Cocaine, he tricked us! Supposedly it's related to Ringo's favorite alcoholic beverage which is mixed with Coca-Cola)
3rd Verse: Yours Truly
- Walrus gumboot (Magical mystery tour disguise?)
- Ono Sideboard (Duh)
- Feet down below his knee (Perhaps referring to himself as the foundation of the band)
- Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease (Maybe if we were all lucky enough to get close to John Lennon, we could have seen how much personal turmoil he endured)
4th Verse: Paul McCartney
- He roller coaster (inconsistent and unstable)
- I feel that the Muddy water and Mojo filter lines are juxtaposed to the 1 and 1 and 1 is 3 line. Notice how Muddy and Filter are things that tend to obscure certain substances or ideas. However, 1 and 1 and 1 is 3 is a pretty straightforward concept. The comparison of these two lyrics exemplifies the overall inconsistency of Paul's involvement with the band.
-Got to be good looking because he's so hard to see (Was notorious for being the "cute one" in the band, perhaps according to John no one knew his true colors.)
PHEW! Hope that clarifies a bit. Again it's just my opinion, perhaps someone else can expand a bit on my interpretation as well.
anonymous
November 24th, 2008 01:04PM
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I recall hearing on the radio many, many years ago the answer to the meaning of this cryptic song. John Lennon would occasionally come up with a line or phrase he liked, but did not fit into whichever song he was working on at the time and would jot them down into a notebook. He simply made all these stray lines "Come Together" into one song. Too easy!!
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